CRUNCHER

Hello,

when transfering money from abroad to buy a condo, do you need to ask for the TOR TOR 3 form as soon as the money has been transfered even when you haven't decided yet which condo to buy ?

Or can you ask the TORTOR 3 form anytime late when you have found wichi condo to buy ?

Is this form free ?

Thank you.

Tor Tor 3 is not tied to a particular condo. It is a good idea to get it as soon as possible because the longer you leave it the longer it takes to generate the form. In the case of Bangkok Bank it is generated in Bangkok and faxed to the local branch. If there is an absolute deadline I am not sure. Best check with your bank. Last time I got one I paid an admin charge of 100 baht if I remember correctly.

For those who wonder why Thailand wants to tighten up on visitors here just look at the below thread. I do not know what visa he came here on, but whatever - pretty pathetic. A few like this gets us all a bad name, but you can't really blame Thai authorities when you see things like this.

You might be having trouble if you are not resident for tax purposes.

Try HSBC Invest Direct International. A bit of hassle to set up, you will need to set up an offshore account in Jersey, and rates are a bit higher than UK brokers. Works OK, but not outstanding. I basically found I had no choice. It was the only way I could trade in UK and US stock markets.

If you are in Bangkok go in and see HSBC. If not you will have to do it all on line and by post.

I've just spoken to someone who has a business in the UK and returns there every month for about a week, whilst in the UK this time he wanted to renew his Non Immogration 'O' visa (he's over 50) (was not a retirement visa) and he was asked to provide proof of income backed up with copies of bank statements in the same way the requirement for a retirement visa. It was the Hull consulate he was using, and they told him that this now was a requirement. Is it just the Hull office that is making up its own rules, as the last requirement I read they were asking for last year was a valid lease on a property. At the Birmingham consulate its sufficient for them to see by your passport you are over 50, and the visa is issued in minutes.

First you need to read through most of this thread before posting, this thread is informing people of changes at both Consulates you mention

Summary - Hull you need to be married to a Thai and provide marrage cert translated into English or over 50 and provide proof of income of greater than 900GBP per month, Birmingham is slightly less clear but I would not assume it is as you state above

I only made the post to provide the information regarding someone who had used the Hull consulate in the previous few days.

I would suggest that you do not make assumptions about Birmingham and suggest what I say is not correct unless you have actual knowledge or personal experience of the Birmingham Consulate yourself. The information was based on my own experience at Birmingham recently, where I found the Consulate staff friendly and helpful, and I recieved my Non 'O' visa with no more documetation (other that the application form) than my passport showing I was over 50.

I sometimes wonder why members take the trouble to try to provide information, mainly from their own experience in order to help others, when people like you dismiss it, without having ay personal knowledge yourself. Your 'Know all know nothing' attitude certainly discourages me from bothering to post information which may help others.

I recently got my 12 months visa (retirement) from Birmingham. They wanted proof of GBP900 per month income, but were fairly relaxed about it. As usual friendly, helpful and efficient..

Check out Srilankan. 33k economy; 55k business.Service, food etc very good especially in business.

The only downside is if you are not flexible with your times/dates you might get several hour layover in Colombo. Flexibility can get this down to 2 or 3 hours.

Thanks SurfRider. Very informative.

Troll

If this is going to be a serious relationship, whether by marriage or not, your partner has a right to know something like that. Unless, of course, sex is not to be part of the relationship.

If it is going to "frighten her off" better sooner rather than later.

90 days is the length of time an ex-pat can remain in the country without being taxed on savings if the savings are held offshore, but again its a question of them finding out, I never receive an income tax form relating to anything else but my property, the taxman never asks me how many days I spent in England so I guess its worth a risk if my condition does not improve in the very near future.

TP

In fact you can stay 183 days in any one year, but must average 91 days per year over a 4(?) year period.

My accountant. You would need to confirm the period for averaging. I think it is 4 years, but I have never used it myself.

90 days is the length of time an ex-pat can remain in the country without being taxed on savings if the savings are held offshore, but again its a question of them finding out, I never receive an income tax form relating to anything else but my property, the taxman never asks me how many days I spent in England so I guess its worth a risk if my condition does not improve in the very near future.

TP

In fact you can stay 183 days in any one year, but must average 91 days per year over a 4(?) year period.

My, this certainly seems to be Thai related

It seriously affects (some) Brits living in Thailand and relates, as per OP, to alternatives to paying for health care in Thailand.

For all you people who complain, often in racist terms, about problems in getting visas and extensions of stay in Thailand, you can now see thing from a different perspective. Unless that is you do not want to see. Could it be that Germans do not want Thais in their country? This is the sort of comment (in reverse) you would get if this was a Thai embassy overseas.

It is no good saying that this was Thai staff. An organization's corporate ethics are set at the lowest standards practiced by it's worst employee unless it is corrected. Where was supervisory accountability? This conduct was, it seems, justified to some extent by a German employee. In any event, it is up to the senior management of the embassy to ensure that staff are helpful, efficient and provide quality service.

A few years ago I tried to get an answer to this question when I was in UK. After a dozen phone calls I got a dozen different answers; no one seemed to really know. In the end,however, it seems that once you have been non-resident for tax purposes, you need to be back in UK for 6 months before your regain your eligibility for NH treatment. You can get emergency treatment at casualty departments.

Of course, as has been pointed out, you have some practical options as you have an address in UK. You need to think what the consequences are if you get caught. A bill for medical treatment; you become resident for tax purposes and you get a tax bill? It is up to you.

You could try claiming refugee status next time you go back. These people seem to be eligible for everything from day one. The fact that you have paid your dues all your life counts for nothing as what you have paid has gone to support refugees. Small wonder some people prefer Thailand. At least you know where you stand.

Sometimes I wonder why trolls are banned. This thread is a big laugh. Despite the number of posts pointing out the obvious, some people still take it seriously.

Perhaps that is why is hasn't been closed, although perhaps it should be moved to the "Jokes" forum.

The real shame, however, is that what could be serious issues are trivialized. Which is my main point.

Needed:

- copy of proof of address (utility-, telephone-bill, rental contract, etc.)

Dont have any of those, unfortunately. Oh well, I will just go and do a lot of smiling. Seems to work most times.

Letter needed for: ...... obtaining proof of address from your own Embassy

Hmm. If the British consulate thinks I'm going to pay 200B at immigration for the privilege of then paying another 2500B to the consulate so that they can certify the contents of the 200B letter, they .have another think coming!

The whole point (for me) of going to immigration is to avoid being ripped-off by the consulate!

If you have any repair bill in your name stating your address, it should suffice. I used a Samsung fridge repair bill before and it worked!

.

Well! Now you see one of the benefits of corruption in Thailand. These certificates are suposed to be free. When the staff can get 200 baht towards the "welfare fund" , it is amazing how easy such certificates are to get.

I cannot defend this attitude, but next time you feel constrained to complain about corruption here, remember there are two side to every coin.

And which is the cheaper culture?

I would bet a lot that some embassy/consular staff are monitoring this thread. It would be nice to get some comment from them, especially on the reported request from Thai Immigration to change the format of the letters.

Come on guys - look after your nationals!!!

It would seem that the British Consulate has decided that they don't wish to be responsible for proving if evidence provided is real or fake. It would seem that they are well on their way to following the US/Australian Consulate system.

So does the Dutch embassy. Today I got a mail stating they do not issue income statements anymore. One has to make his own statement and they just legalise the signature. Immigration checks the income documentation.

The change was made on request of Immigration. Reason: Too much fraud.

But do you want the Thai Immigration to sniff trough your Yearly Statement as I am not a pension but getting income from investments and Interest from abroad ? I don't think so. I trust my Embassy (up too a certain degree of course with this info), but Thai Immigration.. <deleted> NO.

I understand your feelings, but reality is that any country is entitled to check the background, including finances, of anyone to whom they grant a visa or extension of stay. This is not just the case in Thailand and in some countries these checks are much more strigent. If you want the visa or extensions of stay you just have to go through the hoops, troublesome as this may be.

In this thread we are talking about checking of income for extensions of stay and the proof required. We have to respect that it is the Thai Goverments right to set the standards they require. It is their country. It would be good, however, to know just what is required.

Remember, visas and extensions of stay are not a right; they are a consession granted by the host country at the discretion of the host. Again, this does not apply only to Thailand; it applies to every country in the World.

I KNOW that in Pattaya, the Pattaya City Expats Club has reported and posted to their website that, based on several recent reports from Expats, the bank letter and bank-book are no longer required when using the Embassy letter, but STILL REQUIRED when using the 800K deposit renewal method or COMBO method.

If true, this would seem to make it less likely that proof that income was being brought into Thailand is required.

This further discredits the OP, which has done nothing but cause a lot of unecessary concern.

Irrelevant.

Go back and read the OP. Stated clearly were nationalilites: US, Canada & Australia. It is well known that UK citizens have to show proof of income to embassy in order to get the income letter.

It is relevant.

There are two points at issue:-

1. The need for, for some nationalities at least, to show Immigration proof of pension income.

2. The need to show importation of the pension funds.

Rawhods post is relevant to point 2

You really are confused. Perhaps you should read the OP again before you reply as Rawhod's post has nothing to do with requirements for Australian and US citizens, the nationalities in question in the OP.

Tropo - I believe it is you that should read the OP again.

The paragraph beginning "It has been reported..." which contains the bones of the so called "new" requirement, makes no mention of which, if any, nationalities are exempted from this "new" requirement.

The following paragraph simply refers to certain nationalities as being notable exceptions to those nationalities that this will make no real difference to, because they already have such proof. It does not say that some nationalities (e.g. Brits) are exemted from it.

The sub-heading states that proof of transfer into Thailand is required. This is not justified in the body of the post, but has been of concern to a lot of posters in this thread. Again there is no mention of which nationalities this does or does not apply to. Rawhod's post is definately relevant to this point.

It is a little unfortunate that the original poster has not seen fit to justify that statement or else amend or withdraw it. Examing bank books does not necessarily mean that they are seeking proof that the pensions are brought into Thailand every month. It might just be they want to make sure that applicants have sufficient funds here to support themselves.

OK...REPORT....REPORT...REPORT

UK Citizen...Chiang Mai Immigration...Friday 10 June 2011

Within last 30 days of Non-Immigrant "O" visa applying for 1 year Retirement extension of stay.

Submitted :-

1. Passport

2. Photo

3. Completed TM7

4. Original Proof of Pension income letter from British Consulate Chiang Mai

5. Photocopy Departure card

7. Photocopy Passport Data Page

8. Photocopy Non-Immigrant "O" visa

9. 1,900 BHT

Received:-

1 Year Extension of stay based on meeting the conditions for retirement in Thailand

Not Required ...

Additional proof of pension income.

Bank statements.

Thai Bank Book

Pension imported into Thailand.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have resisted the temptation to add to this inane thread until now. Despite "Freedom of Speech", I thing the moderators should nip threads spreading unsubstantiated rumours in the bud. I am sure that "The Authorities" monitor forum(s). By airing your fears,loopholes in the system etc. in public, you play into "The Authorities" hands.

Surely it is better to "keep schtum" .

Irrelevant.

Go back and read the OP. Stated clearly were nationalilites: US, Canada & Australia. It is well known that UK citizens have to show proof of income to embassy in order to get the income letter.

It is relevant.

There are two points at issue:-

1. The need for, for some nationalities at least, to show Immigration proof of pension income.

2. The need to show importation of the pension funds.

Rawhods post is relevant to point 2

OK...REPORT....REPORT...REPORT

UK Citizen...Chiang Mai Immigration...Friday 10 June 2011

Within last 30 days of Non-Immigrant "O" visa applying for 1 year Retirement extension of stay.

Submitted :-

1. Passport

2. Photo

3. Completed TM7

4. Original Proof of Pension income letter from British Consulate Chiang Mai

5. Photocopy Departure card

7. Photocopy Passport Data Page

8. Photocopy Non-Immigrant "O" visa

9. 1,900 BHT

Received:-

1 Year Extension of stay based on meeting the conditions for retirement in Thailand

Not Required ...

Additional proof of pension income.

Bank statements.

Thai Bank Book

Pension imported into Thailand.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have resisted the temptation to add to this inane thread until now. Despite "Freedom of Speech", I thing the moderators should nip threads spreading unsubstantiated rumours in the bud. I am sure that "The Authorities" monitor forum(s). By airing your fears,loopholes in the system etc. in public, you play into "The Authorities" hands.

Surely it is better to "keep schtum" .

Good report but you do not say whether you used income or lump sum to qualify for your extension.

These posts are really referring to the income route where the Embassy of some countries do not require to see evidence but rely solely on the word of the applicant. There was a report by a poster (US) some months ago stating that he had been told by Imm. that in the future evidence to support the letter would be required.

However if applying for an extension on income at the "British Embassy" a letter will not be issued without them seeing proof of income.

Their letter to Immigration stipulates this that they have seen evidence of the income noted in their letter.

Yes he does. Item 4.

In reviewing the prior posts, I have come to the conclusion that most of the posters are confusing the legal requirements for an extension of stay (e.g., 800,000 THB in a Thai bank or 65,000 THB per month in income, or some combination equal to 800,000 THB) and the evidence necessary to prove compliance with the legal requirements (such as the embassy letter). As far as I can tell, the legal requirements themselves have not changed. See, e.g. Order of the Royal Thai Police 777/2552. For an extension based on retirement, you are still required to be 50 or over and have a monthly income of at least 65,000 THB, 800,000 THB in a Thai bank for at least 90 days, or some combination of income and money on deposit in a Thai bank equal to 800,000.

What seems to have changed, at least in some locations or with some people attempting to secure an extension of stay, is that Thai Immigration has started requiring more substantial proof than has been required in the past. As we all know (hopefully), Thai Immigration has the authority to require additional documentation at any time. Speaking as an U.S. citizen only since I have no experience with what is required from other countries, I can see where Thai Immigration might want to see additional proof to go with the embassy letter confirming income. In essence, the letter that the embassy provides is based on nothing more than the applicant swearing under oath that he or she has a certain amount of income per month. The embassy apparently makes no inquiry into the truthfulness or accuracy of the statements and I have found no information, anecdotal or otherwise, to indicate that any individual has ever been punished for "fudging the numbers" and swearing to a false amount of income. While I fully believe that most people making the declarations do so honestly, I am also sure that there is some small number of folks that are less than forthright in their declarations. That small number may well have been the impetus for the changes in the proof required by Thai Immigration.

As for the money required to come into the Kingdom, that only seems to be required for the 800,000 THB or the portion used to top up income to 800,000 THB which is required to be on deposit in a Thai bank in Thailand. None of the information I have found, including the Order linked above, show any requirement that the 65,000 THB income per month be brought into the Kingdom. If there is something that does specifically require the 65,000 THB per month be brought into the Kingdom, I would appreciate a reference to that material.

Just my $0.02 worth.

David

At last. A balanced and level headed assessment of the situation.

Had the same problem. Simply uninstalled Skype and re-installed from their website. Problem solved. Took less than 10 minutes.

It will only cost you about 5-7,000 baht to get representation. It is well worth it if this is your first time. Quite honestly it is worth it just to avoid half a day at the Lands Office. If you wanted to, however, you could go with your rep for the experience.

You do not need a lawyer. Most "law/legal offices" (the ones that also deal with visas, work permits etc) will do this. Some property agents will provide this service. Mostly this is for their clients, but might do it for other paying customers.

Take my advice - get help. Once the chanote has the change of ownership recorded you have not got a hope of getting your money back if there are any problems.

Friend of ours moved to a different province and got stopped daily by sharp eyed BIB.

Had to register change of address within a certain time frame, and yes got to keep his old plate.

How is this possible...? You should not carry your green or blue book around in the vehichle for several reasons. The officer has no rights to have a look in this book or these documents. He should only care about wether the road tax is paid or not and can not order any name change or other changes to this vehicles registration book.

Not correct. law states a copy of reg book MUST be in vehicle when used on public roads. Rental vehicles rental agreement is accepted to replace copy of reg book. Max fine to not provide copy of book is 1.000 baht as I recall

Law also states change of adress MUST be done in book. As most farang arent in any Tabien Baan, we usually get away with it.

Do I need to get a certificate of residence to change address within the same province?